About the Editor

Carlos da Silva Campos.

Professional journalist, with background on the economical press and Packaging Editor since 1982, heading independent magazines REVIPACK (packaging), REVIPLAST (plastics) and REVIPROJECT (automation).
Lawyer since 1984 and and Packaging Consultant since 1986, working for several industry associations related to packaging and recycling. Honorary Member of IPPO - the International Packaging Press Organisation. Served as Vice-President (1996-1999) and Chairman (1999-2002).

REVIPACK N.º 230 features a report about the new beer bottling plant of UNICER and its new automated warehouse. This major industrial investment includes technological solutions from KHS (bottling lines), warehouse automation (EFACEC) and drives (SEW-EURODRIVE). This edition is focused on logistics and intralogistics. Why wood pallets continue to be preferred? The answer lies in the combination of quality, price and sustainability, says Paulo Verdasca, manager of MADECA. CHEP highlights the economic and environmental advantages of collaborative transportation. However, there is also a market for plastic pallets, with specific solutions as those developed by NORTPALET and IPS-Cabka. Palletizing is more than just put the product on a pallet. This edition of REVIPACK also highlights strapping systems and stretch wrapping films. REMBALCOM has developed a new stretch film with stretching capacity of 400%. In the field of intralogistics, this issue highlights several conveying solutions. ANTÍPODA, for example, is doing more and more business within the European market with modular solutions customer designed. In this edition, REVIPACK also features several innovations and trends in food packaging, packaging machines and labeling and coding systems. The digital REVIPACK edition (PDF file) has been sent to Subscribers. To read it online just on the cover image.

The 25th edition of SIMEI, biennial international exhibition event dedicated to the wine, olive oil and beverage supply chains, will be held at the Fiera Milano Fairground at Rho (Milan) from next 12 to 16 November.

SIMEI offers a comprehensive overview of the high technological level achieved by the enological and beverages industries, showing a very wide range of different technical solutions compatible with specific needs, from the manufacturer to the bottling cycle. At SIMEI it is possible to find all types of equipment, material or accessory related to the beverage production cycle in general – wine and beer production, juice processing, preparation of carbonated drinks. The exhibition panorama also includes all kinds of equipment for beverage packaging for the steps after bottling.

Much more than the glass makers, the cork suppliers (with the usual strong presence of Portuguese companies) will be exhibiting again in Milan. After all, the wine-cork-glass troika is still ruling.

Machines

After a 2009 year of strong fall-off, the export of cellar processing machines and equipment highlighted a steady recovery trend in the following years and 2012 also shows strong signs of recovery marking a performance of /1,956 million euro, corresponding to a + 9% in comparison to the previous year. To lead export, also for 2012, is the sector of bottle filling, closing, encapsulating, labelling machines and of beverage carbonation equipment, with an export value of over one billion euro, which alone represents more than 63% of the whole trade flow.

The European "pooling" operations of CHEP Europe have been certified by FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) and PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes). The two entities have recognized that CHEP operates a sustainable management of timber. CHEP is the only company worldwide with the FSC and PEFC certifications in several locations (UK, Spain, France and Belgium).

The FSC is an international organization considered as a reference for all forest management standards and has the full support of NGOs like Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund. The PEFC promotes sustainability through third-party certification and provides a registration mechanism to purchasers of wood products and paper that guarantees that they promote the sustainable management of forests.

Hirsch (Glanegg, Austria) launched a new europallet made of EPS (core) and HIPS (surface film), modified with Styroflex® 2G66, a highly elastic styrene butadiene copolymer from BASF. The new pallet weights much less than wood europallets and it is also easy to clean (washable) and resistant enough for the common logistic use. The lightest model weights 5 kg and can handle 1 ton!